Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period

ABSTRACT: Pullets reared with diverse behavioral experiences are faster to learn spatial cognition tasks and acclimate more successfully to laying environments with elevated structures. However, the neural underpinnings of the improved spatial abilities are unclear. The objective of this study was t...

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Main Authors: Allison N. Pullin, Victoria S. Farrar, Jason W. Loxterkamp, Claire T. Jones, Rebecca M. Calisi, Kristina Horback, Pamela J. Lein, Maja M. Makagon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-12-01
Series:Poultry Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579122004503
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author Allison N. Pullin
Victoria S. Farrar
Jason W. Loxterkamp
Claire T. Jones
Rebecca M. Calisi
Kristina Horback
Pamela J. Lein
Maja M. Makagon
author_facet Allison N. Pullin
Victoria S. Farrar
Jason W. Loxterkamp
Claire T. Jones
Rebecca M. Calisi
Kristina Horback
Pamela J. Lein
Maja M. Makagon
author_sort Allison N. Pullin
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT: Pullets reared with diverse behavioral experiences are faster to learn spatial cognition tasks and acclimate more successfully to laying environments with elevated structures. However, the neural underpinnings of the improved spatial abilities are unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether providing structural height in the rearing environment affected the development of the hippocampus and whether hippocampal neural metrics correlated with individual behavior on spatial cognition tasks. Female Dekalb White pullets were reared in a floor pen (FL), single-tiered aviary (ST), or two-tiered aviary (TT; 5 pens/treatment). Pullets completed floor-based Y-maze and elevated visual cliff tasks to evaluate depth perception at 15 and 16 wk, respectively. At 16 wk, brains were removed for Golgi-Cox staining (n = 12 for FL, 13 for ST, 13 total pullets for TT; 2 to 3 pullets/pen) and qPCR to measure gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; n = 10 for FL, 11 for ST, and 9 pullets for TT). Rearing environment did not affect various morphometric outcomes of dendritic arborization, including Sholl profiles; mean dendritic length; sum dendritic length; number of dendrites, terminal tips, or nodes; soma size; or BDNF mRNA expression (P > 0.05). Hippocampal subregion did affect dendritic morphology, with multipolar neurons from the ventral subregion differing in several characteristics from multipolar neurons in the dorsomedial or dorsolateral subregions (P < 0.05). Neural metrics did not correlate with individual differences in behavior during the spatial cognition tasks. Overall, providing height during rearing did not affect dendritic morphology or BDNF at 16 wk of age, but other metrics in the hippocampus or other brain regions warrant further investigation. Additionally, other structural or social components or the role of animal personality are areas of future interest for how rearing environments influence pullet behavior.
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spelling doaj.art-b619a78db9d149e0bfb50e07d5dd6f3a2022-12-22T04:20:50ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912022-12-0110112102161Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing periodAllison N. Pullin0Victoria S. Farrar1Jason W. Loxterkamp2Claire T. Jones3Rebecca M. Calisi4Kristina Horback5Pamela J. Lein6Maja M. Makagon7Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Animal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Corresponding author:Animal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Molecular Biosciences, University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, CA 95616, USACenter for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Animal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAAnimal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USACenter for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Animal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Molecular Biosciences, University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, CA 95616, USACenter for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Animal Behavior Graduate Group, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAABSTRACT: Pullets reared with diverse behavioral experiences are faster to learn spatial cognition tasks and acclimate more successfully to laying environments with elevated structures. However, the neural underpinnings of the improved spatial abilities are unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether providing structural height in the rearing environment affected the development of the hippocampus and whether hippocampal neural metrics correlated with individual behavior on spatial cognition tasks. Female Dekalb White pullets were reared in a floor pen (FL), single-tiered aviary (ST), or two-tiered aviary (TT; 5 pens/treatment). Pullets completed floor-based Y-maze and elevated visual cliff tasks to evaluate depth perception at 15 and 16 wk, respectively. At 16 wk, brains were removed for Golgi-Cox staining (n = 12 for FL, 13 for ST, 13 total pullets for TT; 2 to 3 pullets/pen) and qPCR to measure gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; n = 10 for FL, 11 for ST, and 9 pullets for TT). Rearing environment did not affect various morphometric outcomes of dendritic arborization, including Sholl profiles; mean dendritic length; sum dendritic length; number of dendrites, terminal tips, or nodes; soma size; or BDNF mRNA expression (P > 0.05). Hippocampal subregion did affect dendritic morphology, with multipolar neurons from the ventral subregion differing in several characteristics from multipolar neurons in the dorsomedial or dorsolateral subregions (P < 0.05). Neural metrics did not correlate with individual differences in behavior during the spatial cognition tasks. Overall, providing height during rearing did not affect dendritic morphology or BDNF at 16 wk of age, but other metrics in the hippocampus or other brain regions warrant further investigation. Additionally, other structural or social components or the role of animal personality are areas of future interest for how rearing environments influence pullet behavior.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579122004503brain-derived neurotrophic factorchickenGolgi stainhippocampusrearing environment
spellingShingle Allison N. Pullin
Victoria S. Farrar
Jason W. Loxterkamp
Claire T. Jones
Rebecca M. Calisi
Kristina Horback
Pamela J. Lein
Maja M. Makagon
Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
Poultry Science
brain-derived neurotrophic factor
chicken
Golgi stain
hippocampus
rearing environment
title Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
title_full Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
title_fullStr Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
title_full_unstemmed Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
title_short Providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain-derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
title_sort providing height to pullets does not influence hippocampal dendritic morphology or brain derived neurotrophic factor at the end of the rearing period
topic brain-derived neurotrophic factor
chicken
Golgi stain
hippocampus
rearing environment
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579122004503
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